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Pat Nixon (1912–1993) was the wife of Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974. Born in Nevada, Pat Ryan grew up in Los Angeles, California. In 1940, she married lawyer Richard Nixon; they had two daughters. Richard Nixon was soon elected Vice President under Dwight D. Eisenhower, whereupon his wife Pat undertook many missions of goodwill with her husband. She assisted him both in his unsuccessful 1960 presidential campaign, and later his successful campaign of 1968. As First Lady, Pat Nixon promoted a number of charitable causes, including volunteerism. She oversaw the collection of more than 600 pieces of historic art and furnishings for the White House, an acquisition larger than that of any other administration. Pat became the most traveled First Lady in U.S. history up to that time, visiting about 80 nations; she was the first First Lady to enter a combat zone. These trips gained her favorable reception in the media and the host countries. Her tenure ended when, after being re-elected in a landslide victory in 1972, President Nixon resigned two years later amid the Watergate scandal. Her public appearances became less frequent in her later life. She and her husband returned to California, and later moved to New Jersey. (more...)

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October 13: Sukkot begins at sunset (Judaism, 2008); Columbus Day in the United States (2008); Health and Sports Day in Japan (2008); Thanksgiving in Canada (2008)

• 54 – Claudius was fatally poisoned by his wife Agrippina the Younger, making her 16-year-old son Nero the next Roman Emperor.
• 1307 – Agents of King Philip IV of France launched a dawn raid, simultaneously arresting many members of the Knights Templar, and subsequently torturing them into "admitting" heresy.
• 1773 – French astronomer Charles Messier discovered the Whirlpool Galaxy (pictured), an interacting, grand-design spiral galaxy located at a distance of approximately 23 million light-years in the constellation Canes Venatici.
• 1843 – The Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world, was founded in New York City.
• 1972 – Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed into a remote area in the Andes mountains near the border of Chile and Argentina; the last of 16 survivors were not rescued until December 23.

• More events: October 12 – October 13 – October 14

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